north star
by raffertysdonna
Summary: Harvey comes home after a long day at work to find their apartment silent. As he goes to search for his wife, he sees a light coming from the bathroom. A post-series prompt.


_A/N: I got insprired to write this little __post-9x10 __one-shot by a thread of prompts on twitter. This particular one is from aSnackForAlways. I haven't written anything in quite a while but I still hope you all enjoy this piece of pure fluff. I'm so soft for Donna and Harvey. _

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_north star_

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It had been a long day.

Harvey had received a call from Mike very early in the morning to tell him that their trial had been moved forward by two weeks which gave them less than two days to prepare for it. He had gruffly told Mike he'd be in as soon as possible and then hung up, tired and exhausted.

Donna had still been sound asleep and he hadn't found it in himself to wake her up. She'd been curled away from him, her hair tickling his nostrils as he slowly detangled their legs and made sure their daughter was still lying safely in Donna's arms.

They'd been awake almost all night and Donna and the baby were finally catching up on some much needed sleep.

Lily was teething and it was bad. Especially at night, she wouldn't settle down unless Donna put her on her chest and gave her skin to skin contact. But even then, Lily would wake up every couple of hours, crying and screaming.

Donna was wonderful with her, sometimes laying the baby on her arm and rubbing her back gently while going for a little walk through their new apartment. Sometimes, she would sing to her softly, her words nothing more than a whisper, soothing and lulling Lily back to sleep. Sometimes, it would even lull _him to sleep.  
_

Falling asleep next to his wife and his daughter was something he treasured and he struggled to get out of bed in the morning, no longer trying to fill a void in his life with work.

So he had given his wife and their baby girl a soft kiss before leaving their home at 5:30am, still half asleep.

His day had been exhausting. Usually trials like this one were easy to prepare for but things had kept coming up and everything had dragged on for hours. By the end of it, he'd had enough. He was hungry and felt like he hadn't seen Donna in days. Declining going for drinks and hurried out of Ross Zane at 8pm.

On his way home, he called Donna but she didn't pick up and it went straight to voicemail which worried him a little but he knew she was probably nursing Lily or doing some housework.

When Harvey enters their apartment, he calls out Donna's name but gets no answer. Looking around the kitchen, he notices that Donna must've eaten dinner already but there was a full plate waiting for him on the table.

He takes off his coat and his jacket and calls for his wife a second time but when he is met with silence once again, he starts looking for her and Lily.

Soon enough, he sees dim, yellow light coming from the bathroom and opens the door. Humid air hits him immediately and it smells like lavender. Donna is a fan of taking bubble baths, he'd learned. There are about a dozen bottles of different smelling bubble baths and bath salts standing neatly on a shelf and she makes full use of their big bathtub.

A few months after they got married, she'd drawn him a bath. Harvey, being Harvey had declined at first but she'd begged him to try it until he'd given in. Five minutes into the bath, she'd walked in and all he managed to say was "Oh my god," and she had chuckled and crouched down in front of the bathtub.

"How'd you know I would enjoy this?"

She'd smirked and said, "I'm Donna."

Ever since then, they've enjoyed taking a bath together every now and then.

So when he glances over to their bathtub and sees Donna lying in it, he's not surprised. Her eyes are closed, devoid of any makeup, and her hair is in a messy bun. There are only a few remaining bubbles in the otherwise purple water indicating that she's been in the bath tub for a while.

To his surprise, he also finds Lily lying on Donna's chest all snuggled up. She's still small, only 5 months old, and she's got a head full of beautiful red hair like her mother which he absolutely adores. The both of them seem to be asleep, probably aching from a day of working together as a team. Sleeping on Donna's chest has become Lily's favourite spot in the last couple of weeks and he can't blame her. Wanting to be close to Donna is something he understands. They look so peaceful that Harvey hesitates to approach them.

But then Donna stirs a moment later, probably feeling the cold breeze of him opening the door on her wet skin and her eyes flutter open.

When she sees him, an instant smile edges into her tired features and she whispers, "hey stranger."

He smiles back as he makes his way over to her and sits down on the edge of the tub.

Her eyes trail down to the baby in her arms, adjusting her grip on her chubby arms and legs, and presses a lingering kiss on the back of her head before sitting up a little.

"How was your day?" she asks softly, her eyes small but alert. "I woke up at 7 to feed Lily and looked around to find you weren't there."

The way she says it, almost vulnerable, reminds him of when they first got together, when they couldn't trust the security of their relationship just yet, and he hates himself for having been forced to leave so early this morning. He can't believe how far they've come and that this is their reality.

They aren't just boss and secretary anymore. They've never been just that but it was what they tried to convince themselves of for years. Their friendship was incidental, they clicked, but it had developed into more, bit by bit.

She's his wife now, the mother of his daughter, and they live in Seattle, across the country and thousands of miles away from where they first started but he can honestly say that life has never been better.

"Mike called at 5:30. The trial got moved. Today was a mess," he whines. "I missed you."

Donna reaches out a wet hand and he takes it, closes his cold hand tightly around her warm one and feels her wedding ring press against his skin, the feeling giving him a thrill even after all this time.

"We missed you too," she replies, stroking her daughter's back gently before taking in his appearance. Crooked tie, tousled hair, the first buttons of his shit undone but he knows she sees beyond that.

"You look tired," she states, but there's worry and concern for his well-being laced in her voice. Her eyes rest on his face like a caress, seeing the exhaustion in the shadows beneath them.

Moving to Seattle had turned out to be more time-consuming that they'd imagined. To top it off, she'd realised she was pregnant during the move and they almost couldn't believe how blessed they were. Within two years, everything had changed, but it had been a long time coming and when they'd welcomed Lily into their lives 5 months ago, it had strengthened their bond even more.

"It's fine. I'm home now." He waves off, more concerned with how his two girls are doing. "How are you? Has Lily been less fussy today?"

"Not really, I feel so helpless. She refused to nurse this morning and I checked her gums, they were sore so I did some gum rubbing which helped, I think, she latched on quickly after." Donna sighs and caresses her daughters back gently. "I think we should go to sleep soon. You most of all. Can you take her?"

Harvey takes the baby and wraps her in a fluffy towel. She yawns and starts waking up. Hazel eyes stare back at him curiously and he is reminded of how much she resembles her mother. For the moment, she seems to be happy to be with him and he puts her on his knees, blowing raspberries on her belly until she giggles and Donna calls him and idiot. Then he puts her in a diaper and dresses her in a dusty pink romper with polka dots for the night.

Meanwhile, Donna has shrugged on her white bathrobe and let out the water from the tub. Together, they make their way into the bedroom and thankfully, Lily seems to be sleepy still and they lay her down in her bassinet as they both change into their pyjamas.

Donna feels his hands slide around her from behind and she turns to kiss him, savouring the way he feels against her. He's had a couple of particularly exhausting weeks and she can't wait for the clinic to close this case so she and Harvey can spend more time together before her maternity leave is up and he stays home with their daughter for another 6 months. They had agreed upon this early on in her pregnancy; both of them grateful to have a chance to raise a child. For the past 15 years, they had focused on their careers but it's time for a quieter life now. It's not as exciting but it's everything they want.

Later that night as they lay in bed, Harvey spoons Donna while Lily is sleeping soundly. Donna rubbed her gums with cold fingers once more and nursed her before Harvey picked her up, burped her and they spent some time talking in silly voices to her before Lily drifted off. Harvey rests his hand on Donna's belly, shuffling closer until her hair tickles his nostrils again and he breathes her in.

He is proud of her, of them. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would have this with her. Donna makes life seem simple, she's his North Star and he can't wait for more nights like this.

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_A/N: Thank you for reading. I hope I'll be back with a little angst and smut soon. _


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